Biological reagents associated with nucleic acid manipulation techniques can be expensive and subject to degradation during preparation, storage, and/or use. Nucleic acid manipulation techniques include, for example, amplification methods such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR); target polynucleotide amplification methods such as self-sustained sequence replication (3SR) and strand-displacement amplification (SDA); methods based on amplification of a signal attached to the target polynucleotide, such as “branched chain” DNA amplification; methods based on amplification of probe DNA, such as ligase chain reaction (LCR) and QB replicase amplification (QBR); transcription-based methods, such as ligation activated transcription (LAT), nucleic acid sequence-based amplification (NASBA), amplification under the trade name INVADER, and transcriptionally mediated amplification (TMA); and various other amplification methods, such as repair chain reaction (RCR) and cycling probe reaction (CPR). Biological reagents such as enzymes, primers, and probes are used in nucleic acid amplification and detection.
Typically, biological reagents, such as enzymes, are stored in a glycerol solution at −20° C. or in a dried form to increase storage stability. Examples of dried forms include powders, spheres, tablets, and thin glassy films. However, powders can be difficult to measure, freeze-dried structures such as spheres are fragile and tend to disintegrate when handled, and tablets and thin glassy films can be slow to dissolve.
Even though several formats have been considered for storing and providing biological reagents, a continuing need exists for biological reagent formats that can be readily manufactured, stored, and used.